Various attempts have been made to optimize the cooling of various automobile parts. Some of the various devices developed have been designed to control the air flow throughout the engine compartment of the automobile such that the desired amount of heat is transferred away from the engine, transmission, and other components which generate heat in order to maintain an optimal operating temperature.
However, it is also desirable to bring the engine up to the normal operating temperature as soon as possible after engine start-up. When the engine is substantially the same temperature as the surrounding environment and is turned on, the engine is the least fuel efficient (especially during start-up and the temperature of the surrounding environment is cold). The reduced fuel efficiency is why it is considered desirable to bring the engine up to the optimal operating temperature very quickly. Under these conditions, it is not desirable to remove heat away from the engine and the various components surrounding the engine, and therefore devices designed to control air flow around the engine are more beneficially used if they do not remove heat away from the engine at start-up.
Furthermore, components designed to provide optimal cooling when the vehicle is new may operate differently after the vehicle has accumulated significant mileage. This may occur due to various weather conditions, changes in the way the vehicle is operated in response to different drivers, or wear and tear on the vehicle components and other components. All of these factors may affect or change the operation of the components over time as the vehicle accumulates mileage. Also, with many current cooling systems, the airflow generated from the forward motion of a vehicle is not efficiently used to cool the various components of the vehicle. Rather, many of the components of a vehicle cause poor airflow which leads to aerodynamic inefficiencies.
Many of the components designed to control the air flow around an engine for controlling the operating temperature are manufactured as separate components and assembled to the vehicle during the manufacturing process. This increases the number of parts used to assemble the vehicle, complexity of manufacturing, and manufacturing costs.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a cooling system which is operable to have greater control over the airflow around an engine which is adaptable to be suited for use with many different vehicles, and is able to be integrated into one or more pre-existing vehicle components to reduce the number of overall parts used in manufacturing the vehicle.